I actually started this piece with an intention: to create a piece of art for a boy’s room. This small sketch was the beginning. I almost never start off with a plan when I create, and if I do, it usually evolves quite a bit.
I started with basic color areas, nothing very pretty. In fact a color palette that felt quite foreign and boring to me.I worked on darkening the whole piece to feel like night, defining the mountain-scape and drawing and painting in my trees. This was the point that I left my artwork at a friend’s for 2 months and wasn’t able to move forward. That’s usually part of the process, but it’s generally called “being stuck.”
The sky and mountains were particularly dark and needed some light and definition. I layered acrylic, fluid acrylics and watercolor to create the right texture.
When I outlined everything in white, I became really excited about the piece. I felt like it was going where I wanted it to.
And then one of my favorite parts of the process began: choosing the bits and rearranging to finish. I cut out a template for the teepee and found I liked the kraft paper as it was. I pulled out my scrabble letters and rick rack and strung the text in the night sky. I tried fabric on the bottom, but decided it was too cute. My husband suggested adding a fire.
I think this piece really hits the sweet spot in terms of balancing my strengths as an artist. It combines my loose intuitive backgrounds, with my detailed illustration and thoughtful collage.
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